YuGiOh! Delta: First Steps into Turmoil
by Rebster6
Summary: In this story, we delve into the secrets and intricacies of the Numbers in more depth, including what they're truly capable of. Plus a return of everyone's favourite mad sciensist, Doctor Lithon. Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

"AAAAARRGH!" Lithon screamed, as wave after wave of pain surged through his body, and the glowing beige number blazed like a beacon from his neck. "GYAAAAAAAH... yes, more power, I almost have it! It's almost perfect!" With a great effort, for even moving was a struggle, he turned his head to the supervising scientists. "Turn it up higher!"

"But sir, it's almost at its maximum," one of the scientists called. "If we turn it up any higher, your body and soul may not be able to handle it!"

"Nonsense!" Lithon shouted. "My soul can hold up fine! Now turn it up!"

The scientist shrugged and, with a worried expression, turned the machines up to their maximum.

Lithon cried out in agony once again, his body involuntarily straining against the straps holding him against the table. Numerous wires were running from his skin into a bank of computers, which in turn were connected to a giant incubator. Inside the incubator was an indistinct shape, several times bigger than any of the humans in the lab. It was thrashing around inside its glass prison, slamming against the sides, and recoiling every time Lithon shouted in pain.

The scientists truly thought it was impossible. What Lithon was planning went against the very rules of the universe. It simply couldn't be done, and they had told him as much many times.

Yet here he was, trying it anyway. Ambition and determination were two things that Doctor Lithon was not lacking in, and to achieve his goals, he had been willing to go to any lengths – even submitting himself to these painful experiments. These factors combined made the scientists willing to listen to Lithon when he said it was possible.

And now things were changing. The creature within the test tube was starting to glow with energy. The glow grew brighter and brighter, dazzling the scientists. Through the glare they heard Lithon cry out in triumph.

Then the test tube exploded. The glass front shattered, and a wave of pure energy blasted out of its interior. Every single scientist in the room was thrown backwards, knocked unconscious before they even hit the ground. Cracks spread across the ceiling and floor, and every single computer in the lab short circuited, their screens exploding violently, spraying more glass across the lab.

And at the centre of it all was Doctor Lithon, freed from his restraints, clutching a card and laughing maniacally.

*SOME TIME LATER*

"Hey, spotted anything yet?" Dan's voice crackled over Leah's D-Gazer.

"Not yet," she replied, putting a hand to her other ear to block out the background noise. "We've been searching for almost an hour now. Do you think the Number holder could've moved on?"

"I doubt that," Dan replied, his voice still fuzzy. "What concerns me more is if either Skyler or Doctor Lithon has got to it first."

"I'm sure they haven't," Leah reassured him. "We would've noticed a duel between two Numbers."

It was a pretty dull Saturday afternoon. There was nothing much going on, and the five members of Team Delta would've been perfectly happy to stay indoors and lounge around all day. Unfortunately they had a job to do, so here they were, hunting down a Number holder that they had no idea where to find.

They knew the rough position, but according to the news there's recently been a strange radio wave surge, and it was messing with their tracking equipment. So they'd had to split up like they used to.

Each of the Deltas was searching different parts of the area. Matt and Katie were wondering up and down the high street, James was checking out the mall, Dan was in a nearby amusement arcade, and Leah was checking out the local dueling areas. In this case, it was a park similar to the one around their area.

"So, any of you other guys find anything?" Leah asked, more out of hope than expectancy. They had all linked their D-Gazers to the same call, so the responses came immediately.

"Nope," Katie replied.

"Nothing on this end," Matt added, and they heard James huff in the background.

"So how much longer should we keep searching, Matt?" Dan asked.

"Just a little bit longer," Matt replied. "If we still can't find it after that, we'll drop a call to Professor Usur, asking him to try to pinpoint the Number with a bit more accuracy."

"But if the tracking system isn't working, how is he-" Leah began, but stopped as she heard a scream. It was a female scream, and it wasn't the 'Eek, I've seen a spider' type of scream. It came from much deeper than that, as though this person was in a lot of pain. "Actually, scratch that guys," Leah said, already moving across the park towards the source. "I think I've found something." As she got closer, an option came up to link her D-Gazer into the current duel. What she saw was interesting to say the least.

**Drayan LP:** 4000

Tri-Horned Dragon: Dragon-Type/DARK/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350

Wattaildragon: Dragon-Type/LIGHT/Level 6/ATK 2500/DEF 1000

Seiyaryu: Dragon-Type/LIGHT/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2300

**Tamika LP:** 2050

**Number 9: Skrapi Drake: Reptile-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 1/ATK 900/DEF 700 – 1 OLU**

The girl, Tamika, was the one who had a Number on the field, yet she seemed to be losing badly. The Number itself was a strange cross between a reptile and a bird, and was clutching an apple between its two front claws. Judging by the life points, Drayan had just used Tri-Horned Dragon to attack Skrapi Drake.

Then Leah gasped as she looked between both opponents. Tamika had the glowing yellow number nine on her hand, representing her own Number, but the shocking thing was that Drayan had one too. The red number ninety-three, shining clearly on his muscular chest.

She muttered into her D-Gazer. "Big news guys. There are two Number holders, and they're dueling each other at the moment. One is called Drayan, the other is called Tamika. It looks like Drayan's winning."

There was a moment's pause as Matt relayed the information to James, then he was back on the line. "We're on our way. It'll be a while before we get there, so until then, keep this line open and don't do anything reckless."

"Once this duel's finished, I'll extract the loser's Number, then challenge the winner," Leah told him. "But don't worry, I promise I'll be careful."

Matt paused for a moment longer, then said, "Alright, but be very _very_ careful."

"I will," Leah assured him. But before she could return her attention to the duel, Dan spoke up.

"Leah, Drayan is one of the duelists in the pro circuit," he told her. "He's going to be very tough to defeat. So be careful – if you get hurt and end up in the hospital, I'll be very cross with you."

Leah laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. He doesn't look so tough-"

"Seiyaryu, attack Skrapi Drake!" The pterodactyl-like dragon flew down and battered the Number. It wasn't destroyed by the battle, but Tamika still took damage.

**Tamika LP: **2050 → 450

"And now, Wattaildragon, finish her! Attack Skrapi Drake!" The third dragon wreathed itself in electricity and charged forwards, ramming into the Number. Tamika was thrown onto her back.

**Drayan LP:** 4000 [WINNER]

**Tamika LP:** 450 → 0

Drayan punched the air. "YEEEEAAAHH!" he shouted, his voice drowning out the final claxon. The augmented reality faded away as he pounded on his chest, and proudly bellowed his victory to the world.

While he was celebrating, Leah quietly walked over to examine his downed opponent. Tamika was unhurt, simply unconscious from sheer exhaustion. With swift, practised movements, Leah placed a hand on her chest and extended the tendrils of light from her metal band straight into her body. Within seconds, she had hold of the Number, and pulled it out without incident.

As she stood up holding the card, Drayan became aware of her presence. "Hey, who're you?" he roared at her. "Who gave you permission to come onto my field?"

Leah turned to look at him coldly. "First of all, I was under the impression that this was a public dueling park. Secondly, I was just checking to see if your opponent was ok."

It was only then that Leah realised that Drayan must be a little bit thick. His brain was clearly unable to process the concepts she had just put to him. "What? You wanna start something with me? Are you really gonna challenge me? The mighty Drayan!"

"Sure," Leah said, much to Drayan's amazement. "Let's get started."

As Leah reached into her bag and pulled out her duel disk, Drayan just stared at her, open-mouthed. Why hadn't she been more intimidated by his name? Why hadn't she fled at the mere sight of him? "Er…" he stuttered, "do you even have any idea who you're messing with, girl?"

Leah looked up at him, and gave him her best good-little-girl smile. "Nope, not a clue," she grinned. "But you look pretty weak, so I reckon I can take you down before lunch."

That did it. Leah almost laughed at the effect these words had – Drayan looked close to blowing up. "Alright! That does it! Let's do this! I'mma kick you to the curb, missy!" He immediately triggered his duel disk and D-Gazer, wanting to waste no time. Not two minutes after it had disappeared, the augmented reality field rose up again.

_"AR Vision – link established."_

"DUEL!"

**Drayan LP:** 4000

**Leah LP:** 4000

Leah didn't need to use her trademark opening line on Drayan; he was so impatient that he dove straight in without asking. "It's my turn, draw! I activate the Spell Card, Ancient Rules!" The Spell Card appeared on his field. "Using this, I can Special Summon any Level five or higher Normal Monster from my hand. Go, Tri-Horned Dragon!" The slouching dragon materialized behind him, with a series of lethal-looking horns jutting out of its head.

Tri-Horned Dragon: Dragon-Type/DARK/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350

"With that I end my turn," he proclaimed proudly.

Leah was largely unimpressed by this monster, and began her turn. "I draw. I activate the Spell Card, Burden of the Mighty." The Continuous Spell Card appeared on her side. "As long as this card is in play, all face-up monsters you control lose 100 ATK for each of their Levels. Tri-Horned Dragon is Level eight, so it loses 800 ATK."

Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2850 → 2050

"Next I'll Normal Summon **Borealis Tatami**." A rainbow hue descended over her field, and a white-garbed angel appeared, her striking orange hair blowing in the breeze.

**Borealis Tatami: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100**

"Now I'll use Tatami's effect," Leah added. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can add any Borealis monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose **Borealis Minami**." Her duel disk extracted the card for her, and she placed it in her hand. "Next I'll activate the Spell Card Double Summon, which lets me perform an additional Normal Summon or Set during this turn. So come on out, **Borealis Minami**!" A second rainbow-hued angel appeared to join the first. This one had light brown hair and a different style of clothing, with a collar made of swan feathers. On her head sat a tiara, styled after what looked like butterfly wings.

**Borealis Minami: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1700**

"And next I'll activate-"

"Wait, hold on there!" Drayan interrupted. "That thing's a Level five monster! You need one Tribute to Summon it!"

Leah shook her head. "Nope. You see, Minami has an effect that lets me Summon it without a Tribute if I already control a Spirit monster. But if I do, then it won't return to my hand during the End Phase like most Spirits, but it'll be banished instead."

"Alright, alright, whatever!" Drayan barked. "Just get on with it!"

"Alrighty," Leah grinned, "I activate the Equip Spell, Orb of Yasaka! Equip to **Borealis Minami**!" The stronger of the rainbow-hued spirits took hold of a blue crystal ball that materialized in front of it. "Now, battle time! **Borealis Minami**, attack Tri-Horned Dragon!" The angel lifted the crystal ball above her head, and a swirl of glowing butterflies materialized around it. The flapping butterflies condensed around the orb into a sphere of light, which Minami threw at the Tri-Horned Dragon. The dragon was consumed by the energy, and exploded violently.

**Drayan LP:** 4000 → 3550

"Oh, and did I mention my Orb of Yasaka's effect?" Leah smiled, as a blue glow enveloped her. "When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle, I gain life points equal to the destroyed monster's original attack points.

**Leah LP:** 4000 → 6850

"Little brat!" Drayan spat. "I'll make you pay for this!"

"Save your threats until after I'm finished," Leah replied. "Go, **Borealis Tatami**, direct attack!" The angel launched a spectral array of lights at Drayan. They struck him in the chest, shoving him back a few steps.

**Drayan LP:** 3550 → 1850

Leah nodded, satisfied. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn. And during my End Phase, **Borealis Tatami** returns to my hand, and **Borealis Minami** is banished." Both monsters faded away into mist. The crystal ball dropped to the ground and shattered as the Equip Card was destroyed.

Drayan was breathing heavily. He looked positively enraged. "You... how dare you! How dare you just destroy my strongest monster as though it was nothing!

"How dare I?" Leah repeated, pretending to consider the question. "Um... because that's how the game is played, perhaps?"

Drayan practically had steam venting from his ears by this point. "I won't let a little brat like you smear my reputation! Do you have any idea what would happen if the press found out I was beaten by a kid? Worse, a girl! I won't let that happen! I'm going to pulverize you! My turn, draw!"

* * *

Author-made cards:

Borealis Tatami  
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100  
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: Add 1 "Borealis" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Borealis Minami  
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1700  
Cannot be Special Summoned. If you control a face-up Spirit monster, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand, OR if this card was Normal Summoned without a Tribute, banish it instead.

Number 9: Skrapi Drake  
Reptile-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 1/ATK 900/DEF 700  
2 Level 1 monsters  
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; each player draws 1 card, then sends the top card of their Deck to the Graveyard.

* * *

**Fun Fact #1: Everything's better with maniacal laughter.**

**Fun Fact #2: Now that we've finished establishing the characters, we can start to focus much more on the Numbers themselves, and explore some cool features that we feel Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL kind of left unfinished.**

**Fun Fact #3: Another word for 'turmoil' is 'chaos'.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Drayan LP:** 1850

**Leah LP:** 6850

Spell & Trap Card Zone: Burden of the Mighty, 1 set card

"I activate the Spell Card, Summoner's Art!" Drayan roared. "With this, I can add any Level five or higher monster from my Deck to my hand! I choose Spiral Serpent!" His duel disk spat out the card, and he placed it in his hand. "Next, I'll play another Spell Card, Ancient Rules!"

"Another Ancient Rules?" Leah asked.

"That's right! And with it, I Summon Spiral Serpent!" The massive sea serpent appeared, hovering just behind Drayan.

Spiral Serpent: Sea Serpent-Type/WATER/Level 8/ATK 2900/DEF 2900

"But don't forget," Leah butted in. "Due to my Burden of the Mighty card, your monster loses 100 ATK times its Level."

Spiral Serpent: ATK 2900 → 2100

Drayan grunted. "Whatever! Now I activate the Spell Card, Silent Doom!" A purple revival circle opened up on his field. The Spell Card appeared, and from it, a glowing hand extended into the circle. "This card lets me Special Summon any Normal Monster in my Graveyard, but I have to put it in Defence Position! So get over here! Tri-Horned Dragon!" The hand came back out of the circle, pulling with it the ugly dragon, which settled behind its owner alongside Spiral Serpent.

Tri-Horned Dragon: Dragon-Type/DARK/Level 8/ATK 2850/DEF 2350

Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2850 → 2050

"Two Level eight monsters?" Leah gasped. Despite everything, she was pretty nervous. The last Rank eight Number she'd seen was **Number 15: Sealed Horror Fuinshin**, and that thing had been practically unstoppable.

Drayan, meanwhile, was getting frustrated with the Burden of the Mighty card. "Stupid Spell Card, get out of here! Go on, get lost!" The Spell Card chose to rudely ignore Drayan's threats. "You hear me? I said get lost! Shoo!" The Spell Card exhibited a profound lack of movement. "GAH! Fine, I'll play the Spell Card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy it!" Drayan's own Spell Card whipped up a mighty typhoon, which annihilated Burden of the Mighty.

Spiral Serpent: ATK 2100 → 2900

Tri-Horned Dragon: ATK 2050 → 2850

Leah didn't quite know whether to laugh or facepalm at her opponent's antics.

Drayan grinned wickedly. "Now comes the best part! Level eight Tri-Horned Dragon and Spiral Serpent, Overlay!" The two Xyz Materials turned fully purple and blue respectively, and shot upwards, straight into a galaxy portal that had opened up on the clouds above them. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The portal exploded, and a column of pure darkness descended from the portal, shaking the earth as it hit the ground behind Drayan. "Descend now! **Number 93: Soul of Draconis**!"

The red number ninety-three on his chest flared brighter than ever. From within the column of shadows a creature roared – a deep, rumbling sound that sent shivers down Leah's back. The column of shadows parted, and the silhouette of a colossal dragon was revealed within, towering well above the two duelists, above even the nearest buildings. It had a long, serpentine body, with no arms, legs, or wings. What it did have was a head, with many tentacle-like things protruding from it. To Leah's surprise, it remained silhouetted, hidden within the shadows, so nothing of its bodily details were visible. Two purple Overlay Units orbited it.

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 0/DEF 0 - 2 OLU  
**

"Zero attack points?" Leah asked, confused.

"That's right!" Drayan shouted. " Now, it's time for battle!" The dragonic creature shifted behind him.

"Battle?" Now Leah was starting to get worried. "You're attacking me with a monster with zero attack points?"

Drayan grinned evilly. "Nah, I won't be attacking you with the Number! I'll be attacking you... with these!" He punched a hand into the air. "I use Number 93's effect!" In response, the tentacles on the dragon's head began to wave about wildly. Suddenly, two of them reached out and snatched the two Overlay Units out of the air. More tentacles all wrapped themselves around the orbs, engulfing them and hiding them from sight. Suddenly, there was a flash of purple light from both of them. When it faded, both Overlay Units had transformed back into their original monsters: Tri-Horned Dragon and Spiral Serpent. Both of them were covered in some sort of blue slime, and both of them were fully restrained by the Number's tentacles.

"What's going on?" Leah asked nervously, taking a step back.

"Well, it's like this," Drayan explained. "Obviously Number 93 can't attack you because it has no attack points! But here's the best bit – any Overlay Units attached to Number 93 can attack you as though they were still monsters on my field!"

"What?" Leah gasped. "That thing can use its Overlay Units to attack?"

Drayan laughed at her worried voice. "You betcha, brat! Tri-Horned Dragon, direct attack!" The tentacles from the Number swung around in a huge arc, swinging the monster towards Leah. It seemed like the Number was just going to smash the monster straight into her.

She didn't know if these monsters were real or if it was just the Number, but she had no desire to find out. "I activate the Trap Card, **Borealis' Haze**!" The Trap Card flipped up as the monster loomed closer. "With this, I can Special Summon any Level five or lower Borealis monster from my hand, ignoring Summoning conditions. So go, **Borealis Kita**!" Another rainbow-lit angle soared onto the field, with large wings like an albatross. It settled on her field in Defence Position.

**Borealis Kita: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 1900**

Drayan snorted. "Whatever! Guess you don't know about Number 93's other effect!"

"Other effect?" Leah said. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever one of my monsters attacks," Drayan explained, "it inflicts Piercing Damage!" At that moment, Tri-Horned Dragon smashed into Kita with the force of a speeding truck. The spirit dissipated, and the shockwaves knocked Leah onto her back. It was then that she realised that these monsters were real, and that she was in horrible danger because of it.

**Leah LP:** 6850 → 5900

"Spiral Serpent, direct attack!" The Number pulled Tri-Horned Dragon back, and sent the other monster hurtling at Leah. She threw herself to one side as the monster slammed into the ground next to her, missing her by mere inches. But the force of the impact sent pieces of grass and soil flying in all directions, pelting her like a swarm of bees.

**Leah LP:** 5900 → 3000

As the Battle Phase ended, both monsters shrunk back down into purple orbs of light, and resumed their orbit around the Number. Drayan laughed maniacally. "I'll place one card face-down! Turn end!" His set card flickered into being.

Leah struggled to her feet and began her turn. "My turn, draw. I Normal Summon **Borealis Tatami**!" The rainbow-hued angel took to the field for a second time.

**Borealis Tatami: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100**

"Then I'll use its effect," she declared. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can add any Borealis monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose **Borealis Leger**." She pulled the card out of her Deck and placed it in her hand.

"Hmph, is that the best you can do?" Drayan yelled.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Leah said. "Your monster may be a Number, but that doesn't mean I can't inflict damage to you. Battle! **Borealis Tatami**, attack **Number 93: Soul of Draconis**!" The spirit charged a series of spectral lights in her hands.

"Nice try kiddo!" Drayan shouted. "I activate the Trap Card, Impenetrable Attack! With this card, I take no Battle Damage this turn!" He was coated in a yellow aura, which reflected away the rays of light fired by the spirit. Being a Number, Draconis was also unharmed by the attack.

Leah gritted her teeth. "Fine, then during Main Phase 2, I activate the Spell Card, Mystic Box!" A colossal box encased the dragonic creature, while a slightly smaller one swallowed up Leah's monster. "With this card, I target one monster on each player's side of the field. Then I destroy your target, but in exchange, you gain control of my target." A series of bright steel swords appeared around the box on Leah's field, then buried themselves in the sides of the box. The doors on the front of the box slowly swung open, and Leah peaked inside, expecting to see **Number 93: Soul of Draconis**' card, neatly swapped with **Borealis Tatami**.

It wasn't in there.

Instead, thrashing about against the swords that had skewered its body, was Tri-Horned Dragon.

"What's going on?" Leah gasped.

"It's Number 93's effect!" Drayan snapped. "If ever it would be destroyed, I can detach one of its Overlay Units instead!" The dragon dissipated from inside the box. The other box swung open, revealing **Borealis Tatami** and Soul of Draconis, both safe and sound inside.

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: 2 **→** 1 OLU**

"Fine then," Leah said, "but since no monster was destroyed, Mystic Box cannot resolve properly, so you don't gain control of my monster." **Borealis Tatami** leapt out of the box and soared back to her field. "I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn there. And during the End Phase, Borealis Tatami goes back to my hand." Sure enough, the angel faded into mist once again.

Drayan impatiently began his move even while Tatami was still disappearing. "My turn, draw! Battle time!" Number 93 gave another low, rumbling growl. With a flash of violet light, Spiral Serpent reappeared, entwined with the tentacles like before. "Spiral Serpent, direct attack!" The Number launched the sea serpent at its opponent.

"I activate the Trap Card, Mirror Force!" Leah declared. "With this, when you declare an attack, this card destroys all monsters you have in Attack Position!" The Trap Card flipped up and blazed with light. _'Yes,' _she thought to herself. _'If this works, then he'll have to use Draconis' last Overlay Unit to protect it. And once it does, it won't be able to hurt me anymore.'_

Drayan gritted his teeth. "I'll use Soul of Draconis' effect! By detaching its last Overlay Unit, it won't be destroyed by your Trap Card!" As the light grew brighter, the Number gave one last tug, pulling Spiral Serpent into the path of the oncoming blast. The serpent was obliterated, and the resulting explosion consumed his field.

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: 1 **→** 0 OLU**

"Yes!" Leah celebrated. "Now you have no more Overlay Units to use to attack me, and that thing doesn't have any ATK of its own!"

She stopped abruptly as Drayan came back into view. He was breathing heavily, his teeth bared, his muscles clenched, and the red symbol on his chest flickering erratically. "You... now you've done it... now you pay dearly..." He suddenly looked up at her, and now there were glints of red in his eyes. "By forcing me to detach all of Number 93's Overlay Units, you've unleashed its true power!"

"Its true power?" Leah repeated. "What do you mean?"

Drayan laughed. "I mean this! When **Number 93: Soul of Draconis** has no Overlay Units attached to it, its original ATK is restored!"

"Original ATK?" Leah gasped. "I thought its original ATK was zero!"

"You thought wrong!" Drayan snarled. "Its original ATK is much… much… higher!"

Behind him, the curtain of shadows surrounding the Number began to ripple and distort, like the surface of a pond on a windy day. The Number became more vocal as well, snarling and growling, and shifting restlessly. Suddenly the veil of darkness shattered, falling away from the creature like shards of glass.

What Leah saw then made her blood run cold.

The dragonic creature was a sickly grey colour, and had a series of red eyes running along its entire body in pairs. But its head was the most frightening part. The white tentacles that had protruded from it turned out to be attached to some sort of skeletal helmet – it looked like a set of ribs being worn on the dragon's head. It had four beady red eyes, and a jaw that resembled that of a human skull, complete with decaying teeth. Leah could smell its breath on the wind – it smelt like rotten meat.

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: ATK 0 **→** 3800**

"Are you kidding me?" Leah gasped. "Its ATK was 3800 the entire time?"

Drayan just laughed at her fear. "Now you understand! Now you know how hopeless you really are! Battle! Soul of Draconis, attack her directly!" The dragon began to draw in darkness energy, seemingly from nowhere.

Leah knew that she couldn't take a full powered attack from that thing. Even a half powered one would probably cause her severe injury, but she had to try. It was the only option she had left. "I activate the Trap Card, Half Shield!"

"What's that?" Drayan shouted as the Trap Card activated. A large heart-shaped shield materialized, made half out of glass and half metal.

"With this," she explained, "any damage I take from this attack is cut in half!" The dragon fired a shadowy beam of pure darkness at her. It crossed the field in less than a second and smashed into the shield. The metal half held, but the glass half simply shattered and allowed the blast through. Leah screamed as it consumed her.

**Leah LP:** 3000 → 1100

The pain was unbelievable. She could see nothing but the shadowy energy swirling around her as the Number's attack engulfed her, pushing her back, threatening to blow her away. The shadows tore at her face, causing her excruciating pain. She threw up her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself. Her hands and her lower arms took the full force of the blast. The dark energy tore at her arms like a pack of hungry wolves...

And the metal band around her wrist shattered.

* * *

Author-made cards:

Borealis Kita  
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 3/ATK 300/DEF 1900  
FLIP: Add 1 Spirit monster from your Deck to your hand.  
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand.

Borealis Tatami  
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100  
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: Add 1 "Borealis" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Number 93: Soul of Draconis  
Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 3800/DEF 0  
2 Level 8 monsters  
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. While this card has an Overlay Unit(s) attached to it, its ATK is always 0. Face-up monsters you control inflict Piercing Damage. While this card is in face-up Attack Position, Overlay Units attached to this card can declare an attack as if they were face-up monsters you control (apply their original ATK and DEF for these attacks). If this face-up card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead.

Borealis' Haze  
Trap Card  
During your opponent's turn: Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower "Borealis" monster from your hand, ignoring Summoning conditions.

* * *

**Fun Fact #4: Those people who have stayed with our stories since the beginning know exactly what those metal bands are for. And those people probably know what happens if it gets broken...**

**Fun Fact #5: No, Drayan is most certainly not a total rip-off of Drayden, the Dragon-type Gym Leader from Pokemon Black & White. And he's absolutely and totally unrelated to Dragan, the first member of Team Ragnarök from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.**

**Fun Fact #6: Has anyone else noticed that Drayan never actually talks? He always shouts.**

**Fun Fact #7: We've added yet another new feature to the intro of each chapter (we'll probably never stop updating it). This one will show all Spell and Trap Cards a player controls at that point in time, which will make it easier to pick up where a duel leaves off in the previous chapters.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Drayan LP:** 1850

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 3800/DEF 0 – 0 OLU**

**Leah LP:** 1100

Leah heard her band shatter, and dread filled her and she realised what was about to happen. The attack finally dissipated around her, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her wounded arms and willing herself not to show pain in front of her opponent. In the next few seconds, a sense of unearthly clarity overtook her senses, and she was able to take in everything around her: the waving grass, the drifting clouds, her aching arms, the stagnant smell of the enemy Number's breath, and the tiny shards of metal scattered around her, glinting in the sunlight.

These were the last sensations she experienced before her Numbers attacked her.

None of the Deltas had ever truly appreciated what a marvel of engineering the small strip of metal was. The band measured brain activity using small electrical impulses sent through the central nervous system. It monitored the brain, looking for any signs of the Numbers attempting to take hold. Whenever one tried, it would send a small electrical impulse into the brain to counteract it. It was a simple but brilliant method, and it created an effective barrier between the user and their Numbers.

But no-one had ever really understood just how powerful the Numbers were. The band's protection had held all this time, but no-one had realised exactly what it was holding back. The Number's power and rage was like a tsunami – huge, unstoppable and merciless.

And now there was nothing holding it back. With a surge of triumph, all four of Leah's Numbers pounced upon her mind, seeking to dominate it and subjugate it. Her mind reacted of its own accord, folding in on itself, wrapping itself into a tight ball to protect itself. Leah's consciousness was dragged down with it, down into the depths of her subconscious, until...

She was standing in the place she never wanted to be again. The core of her own soul – a place of darkness and silence, with voices assailing her from every angle. She could see three shadowy figures: Skrapi Drake, Blast Android, and Terra Storm. Three of her Numbers. All of them were advancing ever closer, whispering words of doubt to her, each of them itching to take control. She struggled to block out their voices.

But to her surprise, all three of the Numbers were suddenly swept aside as if caught in a sudden gale, and a new figure loomed out of the darkness. It was a large humanoid figure, encompassed by shadows but clearly silhouetted against the background. It wore armour that extended over its entire body, leaving only its six downy wings exposed. Leah recognised it immediately: it was her own Number, the Number she had originally received. **Number 17: Passion Aurora**.

The Number stared at her with soulless eyes, and it spoke in a low voice. _"It is time, human. You have denied me for long enough. Now accept my power, so you may obtain what you most desire."_

Leah shook her head. "No," she said, and the strength of her own voice surprised her. "I was already controlled by you once – I won't let you do it again."

The Number looked at her reproachfully. _"You speak as though you have a choice, human. You forget, I've had plenty of time in here to converse with the Numbers you have collected. Each of them told me their story. They told me that each of their humans tried to resist them, but each one failed. Why should you be any different?" _

"Because I know myself better than you," Leah replied. "Do you remember the day you possessed me?"

_"How could I forget?" _The Number replied.

"Well, after we regained control, both Dan and I came to accept our doubts," she explained. "We trust each other 100%, and no amount of your power or influence can replace that, or make us think otherwise."

_"So, what you're saying is that you believe you're immune to our control, with or without that accursed band?"_ Number 17 asked her.

"That's right," she said. "There are no doubts left inside me about my friends, so there's nothing for you to amplify."

At that point, the Number's rage spilled over. Leah had known it was there the entire time, but Passion Aurora had restrained itself to try and coax her into letting down her guard. Now it let its fury out, and howled at her. _"It doesn't matter! I care not if you've mastered your doubts! I care not how strong you think you are! If there are no negative emotions for me to amplify, I shall create them!" _Suddenly, the Number lunged towards her. Leah tried to move but found herself rooted to the spot, unable to get away.

The Number plunged its hand into her chest, and it passed straight through her and out the other side. Leah screamed in pain, then cried out again as the Number began to flood her mind with emotions – pain, despair, guilt, doubt, anger, everything it could muster.

She gritted her teeth and pushed with her thoughts, trying to dislodge the Number from her mind. The Number simply laughed at her efforts, and assailed her even more ferociously, using different mixes of emotions in different quantities, trying to find the exact combination that would break her down completely. She cried out, despite herself.

_"Come now, human," _the Number said almost kindly. _"Stop this meaningless resistance. Accept my power. Tell me what you most desire in the world and I shall help you achieve it. We are one in the same, human. Accept my power!" _It lashed out with its emotions again, this time filling her with hatred towards her friends.

She gritted her teeth and tried one more time to stem the flood of negative emotions as best she could, but there were just too many of them – she couldn't stop them all. And despite her best efforts, they were wearing her down. She felt her resolve wavering.

_"Accept my power!" _the Number snarled again, and Leah gasped as her mind filled with the fear of losing duels.

Leah collapsed to her knees, the Number dropping down with her. She couldn't fight it anymore. There was just too much pain, and she simply didn't know how to fight the Number off, or if it was even possible. Her defences were lowering. She could actually feel the Numbers influence spreading itself through her mind; turning over each and every one of her thoughts, lingering on those it liked the look of, and discarding the others. It wormed its way ever deeper... ever further...

She knew she had already lost.

She felt an inexplicable sense of sadness as the darkness closed in on her soul. She would never be herself again. She would never be able to experience the sensations of the world as herself again. The Number wouldn't just be satisfied with possessing her – not after everything she'd done. No, she knew that the Number was going to become one with her... it was going to become part human, and she was going to become part Number. She knew this because the Number was in her mind. She could see its thoughts as clearly as it could see hers.

The darkness closed in even closer, pulling her into its embrace almost lovingly, blanketing everything she once knew about herself, about her own emotions, and replacing them with cold, hard pain.

She knew that she may never have a chance to think for herself again, so in those final seconds before the Number completely took over, she was determined to remember one last memory. She was determined to spend her last moments at least somewhat positively; reliving a happy memory.

So she searched through her own mind, looking for the sort of thing she wanted. It wasn't easy – the Number's plague was everywhere, blotting out her thoughts and her feelings. Her own mind felt and looked like a battlefield after a terrible war - for the war was over. Of that she was certain. She could feel her consciousness beginning to slip away, but she didn't stop looking. She hadn't succumbed to the darkness yet. She was looking for one last moment of happiness. The Number would not deny her this!

And then she had it. The memory of the five Deltas, and their very first day in their new apartment, before any of them had started hunting down Numbers. She clung to that memory and did her best to remember everything about it.

She remembered Dan and Katie's cooking escapades, as she tried to teach the hopeless boy how to make something that vaguely resembled breakfast...

She remembered Dan's utter confusion when asked to find a whisk, apparently having no idea what it was. He had opted to use a spatula instead...

She remembered Matt's shyness as he tried to integrate himself with the group for the first time. He hadn't known it then - none of them had - but that moment had marked the beginning of a big change in him...

She remembered Katie emptying a large glass of ice water over a distracted James, who was wearing only a bath towel, and who had done the most ridiculous dance ever, trying to dislodge the ice cubes...

She remembered James getting revenge by giving Katie an icy hug, still soaking wet himself...

But above everything else, she remembered being happy. She remembered laughing, she remembered contentedness, and she remembered happiness.

Satisfied, she allowed the memory to repeat itself in her mind, smiling happily to herself as she waited for the Number to close in...

But it didn't. Or rather, it couldn't. Leah's happy memory had allowed a small portion of her consciousness to remain intact, untainted by the Number's influence. It was like a small part of her mind was wrapped into a tight ball of joy, floating in a sea of darkness and misery that had become the Number's domain.

Realising this, Leah felt a flicker of hope. She had found it. She now knew how to fight off the Numbers. She had been doing it completely wrong before: throwing up walls and desperately trying to force it out – that method only created fear and distress, which had allowed the Number to integrate itself further.

And now she began the happiest revolution ever.

As quick as she could, she summoned up more joyous memories and immersed her subconscious within them. Pushing Dan in the river; putting a sexist Number holder in his place; using a bottle of shampoo to get revenge on Dan for ruining her cooking; the heart-warming moment when James returned after going missing for the day... and of course, every happy moment she and Dan had spent together before all this craziness started. The memories of her best friend gave her more joy than she thought possible...

And it was working. The joy was like a light flooding through her mind, evaporating the darkness on contact. The Number lashed out with its hatred once more, and even enlisted Leah's other Numbers to help it, but Leah's wave of nostalgia couldn't be stopped.

With a flash of light, Number 17's influence was forced out of Leah's body, and the monster was flung backwards, blown away like leaves in a gale, and collapsed in a heap on the floor of the soul room. Leah got to her feet and studied her hands in amazement; they were glowing like a beacon. Her whole body was alight.

_"What... what is this...?" _her Number breathed. The amazing thing was that Number 17 didn't sound angry, it was simply in awe.

"I figured it out," Leah replied. "You tried to corrupt my mind with negative emotion, so I was able to fight it out with positive emotion." She smiled kindly. "Happiness trumps sadness every time."

The dishevelled Number shared at her with wide eyes. Scattered around her, the other three Numbers were also staring at her. But they weren't looking at her with rage or hatred, but reverence.

Then Number 17 got to its feet. It still towered over Leah, but it somehow seemed to have less strength of presence, as though Leah's retaliation had robbed it of its former majesty. Leah stared it down. She now knew she had the power to fight it off – at least temporarily. What she didn't know was what the Numbers were planning next. They were at an impasse.

"So..." she said wearily, looking at each of the Numbers in turn, then back at Passion Aurora. "What happens now?"

* * *

**Fun Fact #8: We should probably have put this in the last chapter, but we'll put it here anyway: Wall of text incoming.**

**Fun Fact #9: Things like the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the Renaissance, none of these sound particularly inviting to a potential revolutionary. The Happy Revolution! Now there's a revolution I'd like to be a part of.**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Leah…" _the Number said, and she was surprised to hear it use her real name. Usually it just called her 'human'. _"Allow me to pose you a question. What do you know of the Numbers?"_

As quick as she could, Leah ran through a list of what she knew. "You possess people, you latch onto their souls, you amplify their emotions, and you can inflict real damage in duels. Also, if you can't possess someone the normal way, or if they're too weak for you, you just take them over completely." Her mind flashed back to Haydra, the man Matt had dueled. He had become so thoroughly possessed, that his Number was literally talking to them through his body.

_"For the most part, that is correct," _Number 17 said. _"But why do you think we do it? Why do we possess people?"_

"Because it's just the way you are?" Leah guessed.

_"Partly yes, partly no," _Number 17 replied. _"To be more accurate, we do it because that is what we exist for. Do you recall how, when I first appeared before you, I was naught but a blank card?"_

"Mhmm..." Leah nodded.

_"That was me in stasis form," _Number 17 explained. _"In short, we place ourselves in a blank state because we have no emotions to feed off. Once we latch onto a human, we awaken and change our form to match that person's personality. After that, we retain that form forever. We don't strictly need human emotion or desire to survive, but it is our nature to want it."_

"So you don't actually need emotions to live on, but you seek them anyway because of your nature?" Leah asked. "So it's pretty much what I said before: it's just the way you are."

The Number nodded. _"In a manner of speaking, yes. And now that you know a little more about us, I would like to make you a proposition."_

Leah eyed the Number wearily. What was it planning now? "What proposition?" she asked.

Number 17 looked around at her other three Numbers before replying. _"In short, I would like to create a partnership with you. You will be able to use my card and my powers whenever and however you wish, and I shall never attempt to possess you, nor shall my powers amplify your emotions."_

"Then what do you hope to gain from this?" Leah asked suspiciously. Vaguely, she was aware of her other Numbers shifting uncomfortably.

_"I wish to experience your emotions-" _Number 17 held up a hand as Leah started to argue. _"Let me finish. I wish to live alongside you and experience the same positive emotions you experience. They are more fulfilling than any of the negative emotions I've experienced within you."_

"I thought negative emotions were basically the only thing Numbers ever amplify," Leah said, confused.

_"Not as such,"_ Number 17 explained. _"Numbers tend to amplify negative emotion because it is the easiest form of emotion to deal with, and humans are all the more likely to succumb to it, and build upon it of their own accord. Some humans are naturally predisposed to be unhappy, which makes it easier for the Number. But you… you are different…"_

"Different how?" Leah asked. At all times, she was aware of the other three Numbers, who were muttering amongst themselves, apparently plotting something independently of Passion Aurora.

_"You are different because, although you started out with great doubts about you and your friends, you were able to overcome them," _her Number replied. _"And despite everything that has happened, you are still happy. You are a naturally happy person. I want to be a part of that."_

"Wait, hold on," Leah said. "I'd love to be able to live alongside you rather than having this constant battle with you, but how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you won't simply try and possess me when I let my guard down?"

_"Two reasons,"_ the Number replied immediately. _"Firstly, because you are more powerful than me. That isn't easy for me to admit, but it is the truth – you know how to counter my powers, so you could overpower my possession attempts every time, just as you did today. Secondly, because of what you saw."_

"What I saw?" Leah repeated. "What do you mean?"

_"Do not kid yourself, young one," _the Number said in an amused voice. _"You felt the touch of my mind, you know what I am saying is the truth." _She still looked doubtful, so the Number took a few steps forward to stand directly in front of her. She didn't flinch, but watched its movements carefully. Number 17 spread its arms. _"Go ahead, young one. Enter my mind, just as I did with you. Let that be your proof that I am not trying to deceive you."_

Leah wanted nothing better than to refuse. To enter the mind of a Number seemed like a good way to be possessed by it. She shook her head and backed away, wanting nothing to do with it.

The Number lowered its hands and nodded. _"I understand. This is a monumental shift in dynamic for you, so you need time to reconcile yourself. Very well. I shall let my offer stand. For now you should return to the current duel, and feel safe in the knowledge that I shall not attempt to possess you."_

"Okay, I suppose I'll have to trust you that far," Leah said. "But what about the other Numbers? Will they possess me?"

Passion Aurora looked at the surrounding Numbers and sighed. _"Yes, I believe they will try. But you can fight them off easily now. Watch this-" _One of the Numbers – Number 52: Blast Android – suddenly threw itself at her and thrust a hand through her stomach before she could react.

She gasped, then realised she had to do something before it got into her mind. Number 17 was simply watching with mild interest - although it was hard to distinguish human emotions from such an inhuman face. Acting purely on instinct, she summoned up her happy memories again, condensing them into a barrier of emotion that held back the Numbers influence, then pushed out with it, hard. The wall of thought smashed into the Number's conscience, and the Number itself was flung across the room in a flash of light.

Leah looked on, amazed at what she'd just accomplished. _"Now do you see," _Passion Aurora said, and she thought she could hear a trace of amusement in its voice. _"You have nothing to fear from us anymore. Now go on back to the duel, and know that I will be waiting here for when you wish to talk further." _Darkness folded in around her eyes as she left her soul room and returned to the world of the waking...

*MEANWHILE*

**Drayan LP:** 1850

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 3800/DEF 0 – 0 OLU**

**Leah LP: **1100

Drayan hadn't abandoned the duel, but he had gotten bored of waiting for his opponent to wake up after she'd collapsed, and was chatting to one of his financiers on the phone.

"Well why can't all the t-shirts be extra-large?" he bellowed to the unfortunate man on the other end. There was a brief pause, then he shouted, "I don't care if everyone in the world isn't my size! If it makes my life easier, you damn sure better get it done! Or I'll-" Just then, he noticed his opponent stir, and her eyes open slowly. He grinned. "I'll call you back later!" He snapped his phone shut and pocketed it. "So, you're awake, are you?"

Leah was lying face-down on the ground, the grass tickling the inside of her nose. With an effort, she shifted her weight onto her arms and pushed herself mostly upright. Rubbing her eyes, she took in her surroundings, including the shards of metal surrounding her. She looked at them with a detached indifference. Now that it was gone she could feel the Numbers in her soul much more vividly.

She stood up slowly, her arms still aching from the attack she'd received, and shook her head to clear it. She held up her duel disk. "I'm fine. Shall we continue?"

Drayan nodded and raised his own duel disk to the ready. "You'd better not collapse again! Because if you do, I'll consider that a forfeit and I'll be out of here! Got that?" She nodded in response. "Good! I end my turn!" The Number behind him shifted restlessly, itching to attack her again.

Leah went to draw a card, but was distracted by something invading her mind. By now she knew the feeling off by heart – it was one of her Numbers attacking her again. She watched the glowing number ten etched itself onto the back of her hand, and felt as the Number assailed her with its hatred towards humanity.

Remembering how she had dealt with the first two, she responded with a solid wall of how much she cared for people – her innate desire to help people, to keep them safe – and the Number's influence was swept from her mind, like a leaf caught in a gust of wind. The glowing symbol on her hand went out like a light. She grinned uncontrollably – she couldn't believe she was actually combating the Number's power. Wait until the others heard about this!

"My turn, draw!" She began her turn with excitement. "Nice! I Normal Summon **Borealis Leger**!" In a flare of rainbow lights, a white-garbed angel appeared, carrying a longbow in its right hand.

**Borealis Leger: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1400/DEF 600**

"Leger's effect activates," Leah said. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can target one Spirit monster I control, and increase its Level by one. I'll have it target itself."

**Borealis Leger: Level 4 **→** 5**

"And then I'll-" she began, but she was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. She turned to look at the new arrival. It was Dan, making his way over to her as fast as possible. She started to tell him to keep back, but had crossed the distance and bundled her into his arms before she got a chance. Despite herself, she returned the hug, glad to have her closest friend back.

After almost a minute, he pulled away and examined her for injuries, talking to her all the while. "I was watching everything on my D-Gazer. I saw you get attacked, and I saw you collapse and I thought the worst. But you-" He suddenly stopped as he noticed that she wasn't wearing her band.

Leah smiled and gestured behind her. "Are you looking for that?"

Dan took one look at the broken shards of metal, then back at her. "But... I... you... just..."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not possessed." She showed him her hands to prove it – there were no glowing symbols on them. "I'll explain everything after I've finished the duel. Also, I need you to extract this guy's Number for me once I win, because my band's not exactly in working condition at the moment."

Still a little stunned, Dan nodded and stepped back, out of harm's way. Leah turned back to her opponent, who practically had steam venting out of his ears with outrage from being kept waiting. "Sorry about that, now where was I?"

"Just get a move on, girl!" Drayan shouted. "First the nap attack and now this! You're the slowest duelist I've ever met!"

Leah grinned guiltily. "Yeah, sorry. But don't worry, I'm getting straight back into it. I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Celestial Transformation!" The Spell Card appeared on her field. "With this, I can Special Summon any Fairy-type monster from my hand, but its ATK will be halved, and it will be destroyed during the End Phase. I Special Summon Airknight Parshath!" A centaur-like creature took to the field, with shining blue and gold armour, and a halo wrapped around its helmet.

Airknight Parshath: Fairy-Type/LIGHT/Level 5/ATK 1900/DEF 1400

Airknight Parshath: ATK 1900 → 950

"Now, Level five Airknight Parshath and **Borealis Leger**, Overlay!" Both of her angels turned fully yellow and blue respectively, and spiralled into the air. Beneath them, a red spiral portal opened up. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The two Xyz Material Monsters sailed in. Particles of light erupted from the portal. "Arise! Tiras, Keeper of Genesis!" From within the curtain of light an angelic warrior emerged. Its skin, clothes and hair were pure white, it carried a sword and shield, and it was supported in the air by two lustrous golden wings. Two yellow Overlay Units orbited it.

Tiras, Keeper of Genesis: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2600/DEF 1700 – 2 OLU

"Next I'll activate another Spell Card, **Overlay Bestow**! With this card, I can take one Overlay Unit attached to a monster on the field, and attach it to a different monster. So, I'll take one Overlay Unit from Tiras, and attach it to **Number 93: Soul of Draconis**!" One of the orbs of light around Tiras broke orbit and flew across the field towards the dragon. The moment it was close enough, the Number's tentacles snatched it out of the air and thrust it into orbit around Number 93. A shadowy aura covered the glowing orb, changing its colour from yellow to purple.

Tiras, Keeper of Genesis: 2 → 1 OLU

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: 0 **→** 1 OLU**

"What's the point?" Drayan bellowed. "You've just given my monster a new Overlay Unit, and any Overlay Unit attached to Number 93 can attack as though it was still a monster! What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking mostly about Number 93's other effect," Leah replied, smiling sweetly. "As long as it has no Overlay Units attached to it, its ATK is 3800. But if it has even one Overlay Unit left, it loses all that power." A curtain of darkness rose up and shrouded Number 93, obscuring the details of its form from view.

**Number 93: Soul of Draconis: ATK 3800 **→** 0**

"What?" Drayan cried. "How dare you! How dare you take such a cheap shot at my Number! At me! The great Drayan!"

"He's a very noisy fellow, isn't he?" Dan grinned.

Leah laughed. "He sure is. Here, let me fix that for you. Tiras, attack **Number 93: Soul of Draconis**!" The length of the paladin's blade lit up, and it soared across the field, passed Drayan, and onto the enemy Number. The moment it was in range, the angelic warrior lashed out with its sword, cutting the shadowy Number across the neck. It couldn't be destroyed by the battle, but the shockwaves still made their way back to Drayan, sweeping him off his feet.

**Drayan LP: **1850 → 0

* * *

Borealis Leger  
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1400/DEF 600  
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 face-up Spirit monster you control; that target gains 1 Level.

Number 93: Soul of Draconis  
Dragon-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 8/ATK 3800/DEF 0  
2 Level 8 monsters  
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. While this card has an Overlay Unit(s) attached to it, its ATK is always 0. Face-up monsters you control inflict Piercing Damage. While this card is in face-up Attack Position, Overlay Units attached to this card can declare an attack as if they were face-up monsters you control (apply their original ATK and DEF for these attacks). If this face-up card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead.

Overlay Bestow  
Spell Card  
Target 1 face-up Xyz Monster; take 1 Overlay Unit from that target and attach it to another face-up Xyz Monster.

* * *

**Fun Fact #10: No, Leah doesn't have any special powers. She's just an ordinary kid. Only difference is that she's now learnt how to fight off the Number's influence on her own. That alone makes her stronger than most of the ZEXAL characters - Yuma, Kaito, Tron, III, IV, V, Alit, Gilag, Misael, all of them have some sort of special power/feature that protects them from the Number's influence. Really, the only character who was truly able to fight off the Number's influence is Shark, and even he only managed it for a few episodes before Shark Drake got him.**

**Fun Fact #11: I really wanted my character to use Tiras at some point, seeing how much I abuse that card in real life!**

**Fun Fact #12: Just so you know, we've edited our profile page to include a chronological list of our stories, which will make it easier to know which events came after what, why and when.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Drayan LP:** 1850 → 0

**Leah LP:** 1100 [WINNER]

And that was it. The final claxon sounded, and the augmented reality field faded away, taking both Xyz Monsters with it. Quite suddenly feeling faint, Leah staggered backwards. Dan was by her side in an instant, and lowered her gently to the ground.

"Dan... the Number..." Leah muttered. Dan nodded in understanding. He pointed his right hand at Drayan, who was lying on his stomach, unconscious. Dan's band was still intact, and from it the tendrils of light extended into Drayan's body, retracting moments later with the man's Number.

With than done, Dan returned his attention to Leah, then gasped and recoiled to see the glowing number nine etch itself onto the back of her hand. "Leah, look out!"

She smiled wearily at him. "Don't worry, it's fine. Watch..." A look of brief concentration passed over her face, and the glowing symbol on her hand went out like a light.

Dan stared at her for a long while, looking totally bewildered. Then he said, "How did you do that? You aren't possessed? The Numbers didn't take you over?"

She nodded and yawned widely. "I'll explain everything when we get home. But right now I just want to sleep."

"You can sleep when we get back," Dan grinned. "C'mon, up you get."

"She can stay right there!"

Both teens froze. They recognised that voice, and it wasn't Drayan. With dread, they both turned their heads to look at the new arrival.

It was Doctor Lithon.

Immediately, Dan put himself between the scientist and Leah. He would normally never have needed to protect her like this, but she was weakened, she was injured, and for the moment he needed to keep Lithon away from her.

"Don't bother protecting her, young man," Lithon said. "I've not just come for her: I've come for both of you."

"And what do you want from us?" Leah asked, craning her head to see past Dan.

"Your Numbers." Lithon replied simply. "Each of you has taken a Number from me, and to be quite frank, I want them back. As well as any other Numbers you happen to have on you, which I know is at least one each, plus-"

"Why are you hunting the Numbers?" Leah interrupted, shakily getting to her feet to stand alongside Dan. "We're doing it to save people, Skyler's doing it to attack our boss... what do you want?"

"Skyler...?" Lithon mused. "I'm not familiar with that name, though it makes sense that there are other Number hunters in this world. As to why I'm collecting the Numbers, the simple answer is: science."

"Science?" Both kids repeated.

"Science!" Lithon declared. "I want to know everything there is to know about the Numbers. I want to uncover their secrets, and work out how they can be harnessed for the good of humanity."

"You mean for the good of you?" Dan retorted.

Lithon ignored him. "Now come, you two. Duel me, and allow me to take your Numbers." He began to walk towards them.

"Hey, hold on there!" Dan called. "Leah's in no fit state to duel, so leave her alone. Duel me instead."

"No, I shall duel both of you," Lithon demanded, getting closer and closer all the time. "I don't care what state she's in: she'd better be ready to duel, or I will extract her Numbers the hard way!"

By this point he was right in front of them. He reached out a hand to grab them, to prevent them from running...

Then stopped, puzzled.

He looked behind him and examined his wrist in confusion. Something was wrapped around his left wrist – a strange red beam of pure energy. "What th-" Suddenly the rope yanked on his arm, pulling him away from the two kids. His eyes traced the rope down its length...

Standing a few feet away was Skyler, holding onto the other end of the energy rope.

"Who are you?" Lithon demanded. "What is this contraption?"

"My name is Skyler," the Number hunter replied calmly. "And the thing around your wrist is a Duel Anchor. It will remain attached to you until I choose to release it, or we complete a duel."

"Ah, so you're the mysterious Skyler I've just been hearing about," Lithon replied. "Well this is interesting. Yet another Number hunter has chosen to grace our presence. Pray tell, Number hunter, why do you wish to duel me when you don't know if I even have any Numbers?"

"Don't try and pull the wool over my eyes Lithon," Skyler replied. The Duel Anchor dissipated, but Lithon could still feel it tight around his wrist. "I'm well aware that you have another Number. But that's not the main reason I wanted to duel you."

"Oh? Then what is it?" Lithon asked with a hint of amusement.

Skyler pointed at Leah and Dan. "It's them. They have something I want - an extremely powerful Number." He looked straight at the two kids. "That Number you recently extracted is one of the strong Numbers I've been looking for, so I wish to take it for myself."

"Then why would you challenge me?" Lithon asked.

Skyler turned his gaze back to him. "Because you want their Numbers as well. And since I have no desire to share, and I believe you will not back down, it seems our only course of action is to duel to decide who gets them. Do you think otherwise?"

"Of course I won't back down," Lithon snapped. "Those are my Numbers, and I will get them back. Even if I have to go through you to do it."

"So what if they have your Numbers?" Skyler countered. "That boy has some of my Numbers as well, but you don't see me complaining about it. I'm only after the one strong Number – the others are just a bonus."

"Enough," Lithon said. "You're right: we're at an impasse. So come, let's get this over with. I don't want to bandy words around with you any more than I have to, is that clear?"

"Crystal," Skyler nodded, readying his duel disk and D-Gazer. Lithon did likewise. Their D-Gazers flashed as they linked, and the augmented reality surrounded the area once again.

_"AR Vision – link established."_

And for the first time in her life, Leah sat on the side-lines watching two men dueling with her as the prize. She had to admit, it didn't feel as good as she'd imagined when she was a kid.

"DUEL!"

**Skyler LP:** 4000

**Lithon LP:** 4000

"If you don't mind, I'd like to make the first move," Skyler said. "I draw. I Normal Summon Tin Goldfish." A bizarre flat red fish, made entirely out of metal and sporting big bobbly eyes, appeared on his field.

Tin Goldfish: Machine-Type/WATER/Level 4/ATK 800/DEF 2000

"Next I'll use its effect," Skyler declared. "When I Normal Summon it, I can Special Summon any Level four monster from my hand. So appear, Dark Catapulter." A new, vaguely dragonic creature appeared, with a large charging station on its back that could be used to fire energy projectiles.

Dark Catapulter: Machine-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 1000/DEF 1500

"Now I'll play a Quick-Play Spell Card, **Matter Charger**." Skyler's Spell Card appeared on his field. "I can only use this card if I control two or more Machine-type monsters. Now pay attention, because the effect is pretty tricky. First, the ATK of all Machine-Type monsters I control is halved."

Tin Goldfish: ATK 800 → 400

Dark Catapulter: ATK 1000 → 500

"Then, I gain Life Points equal to the total ATK my monsters lost. Goldfish lost 400, Catapulter lost 500, 500 plus 400 equal 900, so I gain 900 Life Points."

**Skyler LP:** 4000 → 4900

"And finally, if I gained 1000 or less Life Points by this effect, I get to draw one card." Skyler drew his card, with Lithon still watching with dispassionate interest. "Next I'll activate the Spell Card, Machine Duplication. With this card, I can Special Summon up to two copies of any Machine-Type monster on my field with 500 or less ATK from my Deck. So I'll Summon two more copies of Dark Catapulter." Two more mechanical-dragonoid-things appeared.

Dark Catapulter: Machine-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 1000/DEF 1500

Dark Catapulter: Machine-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 1000/DEF 1500

"Interesting," Lithon said. "You decreased their ATK so they'd become valid targets for Machine Duplication."

"Precisely," Skyler nodded. "Now, both Level four Dark Catapulters, Overlay." Both monsters morphed into orange amorphous masses of energy, and shot upwards. Where they had sat, a galaxy portal opened. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon." The two monsters flew into the portal, which exploded. "Come forth, **Number 45: Synthetic Moth**."

A mauve number forty-five etched itself onto his right hand, and out of the portal rose a giant galvanised cocoon. The cocoon split down the middle, then began to flex and ripple, before opening up wide to reveal the monster within. It was an insectoid creature, but was bipedal (had only two legs) and its arms were colossal gatling cannons, joined to its shoulders by an electrical current. The flexible walls of the cocoon were actually its wings, which perfectly resembled moth wings in shape. It had two large feathers jutting out of its forehead, and two orange Overlay Units surrounding it.

**Number 45: Synthetic Moth: Machine-Type/Xyz/EARTH/Rank 4/ATK 2300/DEF 1500 – 2 OLU**

Before Lithon could comment on the Number, Skyler resumed his move. "Next I'll activate the Spell Card, Machine Duplication."

"Another one?" Leah gasped.

Skyler glanced at her in annoyance, then returned his attention to his opponent. "With Machine Duplication, I'll Special Summon two more copies of Tin Goldfish." Two more of the weird fishy things appeared.

Tin Goldfish: Machine-Type/WATER/Level 4/ATK 800/DEF 2000

Tin Goldfish: Machine-Type/WATER/Level 4/ATK 800/DEF 2000

"And here we go again. Both Level four Tin Goldfish, Overlay." Just as before, both monsters morphed into pure energy – blue this time – and flew into the sky, away from another galaxy portal than opened beneath them. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon." The two monsters sailed into the portal, which erupted with a golden light. "Appear, **Number 19: Golden Counter**."

A red number nineteen flashed onto the back of his other hand. Out of the portal rose a giant cube made out of pure gold. The cube reconfigured its structure to begin to form the likeness of some sort of humanoid. It was vaguely human in appearance, but was dressed in radiant gold armour that shone brightly. Its shoulder pads were enormous, and stretched away from its shoulders before tapering down to eyes, and a mouth full of teeth, so the warrior looked like it had a dragon's head sticking out of each shoulder. It had two red katanas attached to its hip, a tail stretching out behind it, and two small wings that looked like a dragonfly's wings. Two yellow Overlay Units surrounded it, looking fairly dull against the warrior's vibrant armour.

**Number 19: Golden Counter: Machine-Type/Xyz/Union/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1300/DEF 1600 – 2 OLU**

"Very intriguing indeed," Lithon muttered. "Two Numbers in a single turn."

"Not quite," Skyler said. "You forget, I still have two monsters left. Remember that I've only been using the monsters I've Summoned with Machine Duplication as Xyz Material Monsters so far, which means the original two are still here. So go, my last remaining Level four Tin Goldfish and Dark Catapulter, Overlay." For the third time that turn, the two masses of orange and blue energy shot into the sky together, and hovered above the galaxy-style portal that opened where they had been standing. "I use these two monsters to construct the Overlay Network. Xyz Summon." Both monsters flew into the portal, and an eruption of darkness spewed from it. "Arise, **Number 54: Curserider Chevalier**."

An orange number fifty-four flared into life on his left shoulder. From within the pillar of shadows came the demonic whinnying of a horse, which suddenly burst out of the shadows a moment later. It was pitch black, and was covered in dark grey armour which extended over its entire body, including its head, legs, and even its tail. The curious thing was that there was no rider, but just a lump of metal on its back like a camel's hump. Suddenly, the metal shifted, changing and reconfiguring just as Number 19's sealed form had done, until it reformed itself into a fiendish warrior. It was completely encased in its terrifying armour, it carried a tremendously long battle-axe, and it had absolutely no visible feet – instead, it seemed to be attached to the horse's back from the waist up. Two purple Overlay Units circled it.

**Number 54: Curserider Chevalier: Warrior-type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2200/DEF 1900 – 2 OLU**

"Whoa..." Dan breathed. "Three Numbers in one turn... looks like Skyler's gotten even stronger since he fought me."

"I must say, that's impressive, hunter," Lithon smirked. "Being able to Summon three Numbers in a single turn is a feat to be proud of. And all of them look relatively strong."

"Perhaps they might be to a weakling like you," Skyler retorted, "but not to me. I'm only interested in the strongest Numbers in existence, but these three... they are nothing to me. They are weak, and they are useless."

"Then why Summon them?" Lithon queried.

"To pave the way for a Number that's actually strong," Skyler replied. "You should feel honoured – I've never been able to Summon this Number before. Not even its original owner could manage it."

"I'm losing my patience, hunter, Summon the Number!" Lithon snapped.

"As you wish," Skyler said calmly, and raised his hand. "Behold the true power of the Numbers! Rank four Synthetic Moth, Golden Counter, and Curserider Chevalier, Overlay!" The three Xyz Monsters morphed into energy just as their Materials had – one orange, one yellow, and one purple – and flew upwards, their Overlay Units separating from them and chasing them into the sky. A final galaxy-shaped portal opened up on Skyler's field. "I use these three Xyz Monsters, plus their Overlay Units, to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" Three bolts of energy and six Overlay Units all shot into the portal producing a flash of light each time. Then, the portal erupted like a volcano, engulfing the field in a maelström of light particles. Lithon and the spectators threw their arms in front of their faces as Skyler's voice rang out. "Be born! **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**!"

* * *

Number 45: Synthetic Moth (credit to Gardevrose45)  
Machine-Type/Xyz/EARTH/Rank 4/ATK 2300/DEF 1500  
2 Level 4 monsters  
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target 1 face-up monster (except this card) each player controls; return those targets to the hand, and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to the difference between those targets' original ATK on the field, until your opponent's next End Phase.

Number 19: Golden Counter (credit to javaraicekid)  
Machine-Type/Xyz/Union/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1300/DEF 1600  
2 Level 4 monsters  
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn, you can either: Target 1 face-up monster you control; equip this card to that target, OR: Unequip this card and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position. The equipped monster is treated as a "Number" monster, and cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead).

Number 54: Curserider Chevalier (credit to Dreamlord8025)  
Warrior-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2200/DEF 1900  
2 Level 4 monsters  
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. When an effect is activated in the hand or the Graveyard: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; negate that effect, and if you do, banish that card, then inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.

Matter Charger  
Quick-Play Spell Card  
If you control 2 or more Machine-Type monsters: Halve the ATK of all face-up Machine-Type monsters you control, then gain Life Points equal to the total ATK they lost, then if you gained 1000 or less Life Points by this effect, draw 1 card.

* * *

**Fun Fact #13: Yes, Skyler did just Overlay 3 Xyz Monsters. Yes, Skyler is about to Summon one of the "strong Numbers" he's so obsessed about. No, we're not putting its stats in this chapter.  
**

**Fun Fact #14: Yes, Number 19: Golden Counter is an Xyz Monster _and_ a Union monster. *Gasp* What a concept! For those of you who aren't sure about the ruling on this, Xyz Monsters do not keep their Overlay Units when they become an Equip Card, so Number 19 will lose its Overlay Units the moment it uses its effect. Fortunately, this doesn't matter for Number 19, because no part of its effect requires Overlay Units.  
**

**Fun Fact #15: Skyler now holds the record for the most amount of Number monsters Xyz Summoned during a single turn, with 4 of them. Well done to him. Technically, second place goes to Yuma and Tron who each Summoned 3 of them during the WDC finals, but we're not counting that because they used the effect of the Sphere Field to do it****. **So instead, we're giving second place to Kaito, for Xyz Summoning Number 10: Illumiknight and Number 20: Giga-Brilliant on his first turn. Take a bow sir. Technically, Yuma has tied that record by****** Xyz Summoning Number 61: Volcasaurus and Number 6: Chronomaly Atlandis in the same turn, but we're not counting that either because Yuma is a total idiot. I mean seriously, why go for Atlandis? Why not Force Focus? That would've been an instant win right there.**  



	6. Chapter 6

**Skyler LP:** 4900

**Lithon LP:** 4000

"Be born! **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**!"

The three numbers on Skyler's body (forty-five, nineteen, and fifty-four) all shattered, to be replaced by a single electric-blue number four on his right hand. Out of the portal rose a huge grey tesseract – a cube made of cubes, something which could not physically or mathematically exist. Yet here it was, changing for before their eyes, growing legs, a tail, a head. With a flash of light, the creature formed entirely, and dropped down behind Skyler with an earth-shaking crash. Whatever it was, it walked on four legs, had a long spiked tail, and a slender neck with a head that was half dragon, half bird in appearance. The monster seemed to be floating in pieces – no parts of its body were even joined together. The three separate parts of each leg were only held together by an electric current, and there seemed to be nothing holding its tail spikes on at all. The front of its chest resembled a mouth, and was full of wicked-looking teeth. The insane-looking digital monstrosity stared at Lithon with its soulless red eyes, then let off a distorted electronic howl, sending sparks in all directions. A grand total of nine purple Overlay Units encircled it.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: Thunder-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 4100/DEF 2800 – 9 OLU**

Lithon took a step back, staring at the colossal creature with wide eyes, his yellow lab coat flapping in the wind given off by this creature's Summoning. "What... I don't..." he struggled to find the words. "What on earth is that thing?"

Skyler rubbed his robotic arm distractedly. "I'll explain this simply, so you can keep up. **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon** requires three Rank four monsters to Xyz Summon. Not Level four monsters, mind you. Rank four monsters."

"An Xyz Monster that uses other Xyz Monsters as the Xyz Material Monsters..." Lithon muttered. "I... I thought those were only..."

"And here's the best part," Skyler interrupted. "Since it uses Xyz Monsters as its Material, any Overlay Units that were attached to those three Xyz Monsters also become Overlay Units attached to this card." He indicated the nine glowing orbs of light, each tracing a bright line around the Number. "Each Xyz Monster becomes an Overlay Unit, and each of them also contributes their own two Overlay Units, which makes for a total of nine Overlay Units."

"NINE?" Lithon, Dan, and Leah gasped all at once. None of them had ever heard of an Xyz Monster having so many Overlay Units.

"Indeed," Skyler nodded. "Now it's time to put them to use. **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**'s effect activates! By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I choose one of its three effects to apply."

"And what are those effects?" Lithon asked suspiciously.

*Basically, I can banish one card from any three places," Skyler explained. "Your hand, field, or Graveyard. For the first use, I'll choose your hand." A single orb of light broke orbit and flew into the monster's teethy chest.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 9 **→** 8 OLU**

A random card in Lithon's hand was suddenly coated in pale blue electricity. He looked irritated as he banished the card. It was Chaos Sorcerer.

"And here's the beauty of it," Skyler grinned. "This effect can be used as many times as I like per turn, as long as I detach one Overlay Unit for each use. Fortunately, I think I have plenty of Overlay Units to spare. However, I can't choose to banish a card from a different place if I've already used the effect this turn." He pointed at Lithon with his metal hand. "Hence, I'll activate the same effect again, to banish another card from your hand!" Tesseract Dragon absorbed another Unit.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 8 **→** 7 OLU**

"Wait a minute..." Dan gasped as Lithon banished his second card – **Epignosai Sin**. "You don't think he's-"

Skyler grinned wickedly. "I'm sure you've figured it out by now. I'm going to destroy your entire hand! I activate Tesseract Dragon's same effect, three more times!" The dragonic creature absorbed three more Overlay Units in quick succession.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 7 **→** 6 OLU**

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 6 **→** 5 OLU**

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 5 **→** 4 OLU**

And just like that, Lithon was standing there with absolutely no cards in his hand. The rest of his hand has contained one more **Epignosai Sin**, one Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning, and one **Epignosai Mem**.

"There," Skyler nodded, satisfied. "Now there's absolutely no chance of a counterattack." Not even the best duelists can fight with literally one card. I end my turn there."

Oddly enough, Lithon seemed completely unperturbed by this setback, and drew his card as though nothing was wrong. "My turn, draw. I Normal Summon **Epignosai Lamedh**!" A strange leopard appeared. It had pitch black fur, no eyes, and a gaping mouth filled with teeth. Something that resembled black tar dripped from its body.

**Epignosai Lamedh: Beast-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800**

"Now I'll use Lamedh's effect," Lithon said. "With this effect, when this monster is Normal Summoned, I can banish any card with Epignosai in its name from my Deck. I choose **Epignosai Veil**." He extracted the Trap Card from his Deck and banished it. "With that, I end my turn."

"Really? That's it?" Skyler said, and his opponent nodded. "Disappointing. I was expecting more from you than this. Ah well, I draw." Immediately, he reached under his Number card. "I activate Tesseract Dragon's effect again, but I'll be using a slightly different effect this time." With one swift movement, he pulled an Overlay Unit from beneath Tesseract Dragon and sent it to the Graveyard. "By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I'll banish one card from your field. I choose your monster!" The dragon absorbed yet another Overlay Unit.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: 4 **→** 3 OLU**

"Too predictable, hunter!" Lithon interrupted. "I activate the effect of my banished Trap Card, **Epignosai Veil**!" A faint image of the card appeared behind him. "With this card's effect, I can return it to my Graveyard to negate the effects of one Effect Monster you control, until the End Phase." A portal opened above Tesseract Dragon, and a globule of black and white tar fell from it, coating the Number completely. The dragon sagged under its weight.

Skyler didn't seem put off by this turn of events. Indeed, he seemed as nonchalant as Lithon was. It looked like the two of them were desperately trying to out-nonchalant the other.

The two Deltas were still watching the duel partly with fear, and partly with curiosity to see which of these enemy hunters would win. Leah was sitting down, still exhausted from her last ordeal, with Dan kneeling beside her.

He suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, here's a question," he said. "Which one of them are we actually rooting for?"

She considered the question for a moment. "Um... I'm not sure. On the one hand, if Skyler wins and then beats us, his extraction method will damage us forever, like Andrea and Harrison were. On the other hand, Lithon's a creep who tried to kill me." Once again, she distractedly ran a finger over the deep welts in her neck, as had become her habit. "So what's your vote?"

"My vote?" Dan said. "My vote is to run away. Either of these two winning is bad news for us, and you're in no condition to be dueling either of them. We should get away while we can."

Once again, Leah thought about this for a while. "Yeah," she said eventually, turning to face him with a grin of her face. "You're right, that would be the best thing to do."

They stared at each other for a moment longer.

"You don't want to leave, do you?" Dan asked.

"Nope," she grinned.

"Oh dear lord..." he muttered. "Why not?"

She was about to answer, but was interrupted by the number ten appearing on her hand again. She paused for a moment, concentrating hard on countering the Number's powers, and the symbol eventually faded away again. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued talking. "Because this duel is amazing. I want to see it through to the end."

Dan sighed. There was to be no arguing with her. Anyway, the other Deltas would be here soon, and they would be able to help him fight off whoever won this duel.

So they stayed.

"Alright," Skyler muttered. "Then I'll have to get rid of your monster the old fashioned way. Battle! Go, **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**, attack **Epignosai Lamedh**!" The dragon shook its head vigorously, which was enough to dislodge the tar from its face. It then opened its mouth wide and began drawing in electrical energy from the surroundings, as well as from its own body. The watchers pre-emptively covered their faces. The dragon fires a blast of fire electrical energy, which consumed Lithon's entire field. The tar-soaked leopard was vaporized in an instant.

**Lithon LP:** 4000 → 1700

The scientist was thrown backwards from the force of the blast. He landed heavily, his body crackling with electricity.

Skyler nodded with satisfaction. "I end my turn. Let's see you come back from this, Lithon."

Lithon stood up slowly, shaking with rage. "Oh, I'll do much more than that, hunter... I draw! I activate the effect of my banished **Epignosai Mem**! By returning two of my other banished Epignosai monsters to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this banished card." Both copies of **Epignosai Sin** returned to his Graveyard. "Appear, **Epignosai Mem**!" A blob of dull white slime entered the battle field. The only feature visible on its body was a gaping, empty mouth, and the pure white tar that coated it.

**Epignosai Mem: Aqua-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 100/DEF 100**

"Next I Normal Summon **Epignosai Samekh**!" Another new monster appeared. This one was a pitch black piranha, with a large mouth full of teeth and spikes along its body, but no visible eyes. It hovered several feet off the ground, with black tar dripping from it.

**Epignosai Samekh: Fish-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1100/DEF 1100**

"Samekh's effect activates. When it's Summoned, I can banish up to three Epignosai monsters from my Graveyard, then change Samekh to Defence Position. I'll choose to banish **Epignosai Lamedh** and both **Epignosai Sins**." The three cards appeared behind him, then disappeared into a portal as Samekh shifted position.

"And I assume you're going to use them to Xyz Summon," Skyler said. "I'm not a fool, you know."

"Really? Well you certainly had me fooled," Lithon retorted. "Why else would you have engaged me in such a pointless duel, rather than just letting me take their Numbers?"

"Because then I'd have to duel you to extract Number 93 from you anyway," Skyler replied. "This way, I'm getting a troublesome hunter out of the way, so I don't have to deal with the collective Numbers from a bunch of people used by one person."

"You should not have interfered, Skyler," Lithon said. "You've just wasted four of your Numbers for no reason at all. Because you will lose them, hunter. That I can guarantee you."

"If you believe your claims so fervently, then by all means, Summon your Number," Skyler said. "I'm interested to see if it can stand up to Tesseract Dragon."

"A question first," Lithon interrupted. "None of the Numbers you've Summoned in this duel are your originals, are they? Not even Tesseract Dragon?"

The question caught Skyler off guard. "No, they're all Numbers I've extracted from others. What does that matter?"

"Simple curiosity," Lithon assured him. "Now back to the duel. Level four **Epignosai Samekh** and **Epignosai Mem**, Overlay!" The fish and the blob of slime morphed into fully purple and yellow masses of energy, and shot into the air. A galaxy-shaped portal opened up on Lithon's field. "I use these two LIGHT and DARK-Attribute monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The two monsters sailed into the portal, which exploded. "Arise, **Number 89: Blacklight Prototype**!"

A beige number eighty-nine appeared on the front of Lithon's neck, stretching across his throat like a ghastly tattoo. From out of the portal rose a grey cube. It was crackling with static, and chunks of it were missing in places. Everything about it looked incomplete. With a grinding noise, the cube folded outwards, forming the shape of some sort of humanoid, all though it resembled an alien more than anything else. Its skin was grey and leathery, and it was pulsating with a faint glow like cooling magma. There were absolutely no facial features, not even eyes of a mouth. In fact, the only noticeable features on its body – besides the glowing beige number eighty-nine on its shoulder – were its wings. One of them was like a crow's wing, black and feathery, with a white crystal orb at the tip. The other wing was white, and resembled a leathery bat's wing, with a black orb at the tip. The creature made no noise as it settled in front of Lithon. Two yellow Overlay Units orbited it.

**Number 89: Blacklight Prototype: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900 – 2 OLU**

"And due to its effect," Lithon added. "As long as it's on the field, it's also treated as a DARK Fiend-type monster." One of the yellow Overlay Units gained a purple tint.

**Number 89: Blacklight Prototype: Fairy-Type **→** Fairy-Type/Fiend-Type**

**Number 89: Blacklight Prototype: LIGHT **→** LIGHT/DARK**

"Behold, hunter," Lithon called. "This is my original Number."

"Really?" Skyler said, squinting at the monster. "It doesn't look like much. I think the word I'd use to describe it would be-"

"Incomplete?" Lithon suggested. "You're entirely correct. This Number was created from my original desires. I wanted to find the imperfect and make it perfect, so this thing was created. The most imperfect Number."

"Why on earth would you want an imperfect Number?" Skyler asked.

Lithon grinned widely. "So I can seek perfection from it. I did my research, I conducted experiments, I pushed everything to the limit, even my own body. But I finally did it. I artificially created something incredible. I artificially created the perfect Number!" He clenched his fists. "You see, young hunters, there's much more to the Numbers than meets the eye. You don't understand their secrets. They have a true form hidden away inside them."

"A true form?" Leah gasped. "What do you mean a true form?"

"I mean that a Number has an alternate form that it can evolve into, one that allows it to release all of its power," Lithon explained. "And I have achieved that form, so behold it now! The ultimate power of the Chaos Numbers!"

"What? Chaos Numbers?" Skyler gasped, but Lithon was no longer listening.

"I use **Number 89: Blacklight Prototype** and its Overlay Units to reconstruct the Overlay Network!" With more grinding, Number 89 began to revert back into its grey pulsating cube, its Overlay Units continuing to circle it. Beneath it, another galaxy portal appeared, and the entire cube descended into it, along with its Overlay Units. The portal erupted outwards with light. "CHAOS XYZ CHANGE!"

* * *

Author-made cards:

Epignosai Lamedh (credit to Superjad)  
Beast-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800  
When this card is Normal Summoned: Banish 1 "Epignosai" card from your Deck.

Epignosai Mem (credit to Superjad)  
Aqua-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 100/DEF 100  
If this card is currently banished: You can return 2 other banished "Epignosai" monsters to the Graveyard; Special Summon this banished card. Each player can only use the effect of "Epignosai Mem" twice per Duel.

Epignosai Samekh (credit to Superjad)  
Fish-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1100/DEF 1100  
When this card is Summoned: Target up to 3 "Epignosai" monsters in your Graveyard; banish all of those targets, then change this card to face-up Defence Position.

Number 4: Tesseract Dragon  
Thunder-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 4100/DEF 2800  
3 Rank 4 monsters  
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. If this card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead. You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; apply 1 of these effects (you cannot apply 2 or more different effects during the same turn): ●Banish 1 card your opponent controls. ●Banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand. ●Banish 1 card from your opponent's Graveyard.

Epignosai Veil (credit to Superjad)  
Trap Card  
Cannot be banished (except by the effect of an "Epignosai" card). If this card is currently banished: You can return this card to the Graveyard, then target 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls; negate that target's effects until the End Phase.

* * *

**Fun Fact #16: I think Number 4: Tesseract Dragon now holds the record for the highest amount of Overlay Units attached to it at one time. Although, spoiler warning, it won't be holding that record for long.**

**Fun Fact #17: Someone should totally make a Guinness Book of World Records for Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'm not sure how many records we've broken so far, but as far as I'm aware it's at least two (with Skyler Xyz Summoning 4 Numbers in a turn, and attaching a total of 9 Overlay Units to a monster at one time). If anyone finds/knows of another fanfic that has feasibly done better than us on either of these things, then please let us know, and we will immediately go and congratulate them (and most likely leave them in a state of total bewilderment).**


	7. Chapter 7

**Skyler LP:** 4900

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: Thunder-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 4100/DEF 2800 – 3 OLU**

**Lithon LP:** 1700

**Number 89: Blacklight Prototype: Fairy-Type/Fiend-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900 – 2 OLU**

"CHAOS XYZ CHANGE!" Lithon cried. A maelström of black and white particles of light erupted from the portal. "Appear before us! **Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos**!"

The beige number eighty-nine around Lithon's neck crackled with energy, then shattered, revealed a pulsating, much darker version of the symbol. Nothing rose out of the portal yet, but five smaller portals opened up in a circle around it, and fired five beams of pure energy into the vortex. It swirled faster and faster, throwing off pure light in all directions, before exploding completely. From within, a new spinning cube appeared. This one was visually similar to the previous cube, and folded out into a very similar-looking monster... except, the feel of the creature had completely changed. Instead of being a dull pulsating grey, it now blazed with a radiance that hurt the eyes of any who stared at it for too long, yet also managed to give off an aura darker than they'd ever seen. It had also gained the bodily features of a human, including piercing eyes that held no emotion whatsoever, which gave a real sense of just how artificial it was. The monster was now whole, seamless, complete. It was encircled by three yellow orbs of light, but their glow was overshadowed by the creatures blinding radiance.

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900 – 3 OLU**

Skyler took a step back, staring at the new monster in horror. "C-Chaos Numbers...?" he breathed. "What the... what in the hell is that thing?"

"These are the ultimate forms of the Numbers," Lithon replied. "A form that allows them to unleash the full extent of their power!"

The spectators were likewise enthralled. "Leah..." Dan said, "have you ever heard of these Chaos Number things?"

She shook her head. "No... I never knew such a thing existed-" She fell silent for a moment as **Number 9: Skrapi Drake** briefly assailed her mind, before going on. "To think that the Numbers had such power and we never knew about it."

Doctor Lithon heard this and laughed at them. "Of course you haven't heard of them, pathetic brats!" he taunted. "You don't have what it takes to create one. No-one does."

"What do you mean, create one?" Skyler cut in.

Lithon turned back to him. "I suppose it can't be helped, so I guess I'll give you a lesson on Chaos Numbers. Such creatures are created when a Number holder experiences a certain emotion so strongly and deeply, that it sweeps aside all doubts and confusion and carves a path into the light. This will evolve the corresponding Number into its Chaos Number variant."

"I think I understand..." Leah said. "So which emotion did you get so strongly that allowed your Number to evolve?"

"Ah, now that's just the problem," Lithon said, shaking his head. "I've done a great deal of research, and from what I've seen, it seems that for a human to experience such an emotional surge is physically impossible."

"Impossible?" Skyler repeated.

"Correct," Lithon replied. "It cannot be done. No human being can physically experience such emotion required to evolve their Number."

For a moment, everyone was silent as they digested this information. Then Dan spoke. "Alright then, I'll ask the obvious question: if it's impossible for a human to acquire a Chaos Number, then how do you have one?"

Lithon grinned widely. "Ah, well... you might say that I didn't exactly use the... conventional method."

"Straighten your tongue, Lithon!" Skyler snapped. "I didn't come here to listen to riddles. Now answer the question."

The scientist gave a mocking bow to his opponent. "As you command, hunter. The truth is that I also conducted numerous experiments on myself. And I found an interesting method that allowed me to alter the requirements of a Chaos Xyz Change. I won't go into much detail, but let's just say it involves using some of the other Numbers in my collection..." He grinned. "Anyway, by sufficiently lowering my own bodies strength and simulating the emotions required, I was able to do what I thought was impossible. I _forced_ a Chaos Xyz Change!" He gestured to the disturbing creature on his field. "And the result is standing before you now. The most glorious and perfect Number in all of creation!" The monster stretched its arms, its soulless eyes never leaving Skyler.

Skyler stared at the creature for only a moment longer, before shaking his head and returning his attention to the scientist. "I don't care what kind of tricks you pull out of that Deck of yours; the result will still be the same. Even your Chaos Number cannot defeat my Number! And do you know why? Because the evolution of something weak will still be inherently weak!" Tesseract Dragon roared in agreement.

"Hahaha, is that so?" Lithon laughed. "Well then, let us test your hypothesis. I'll start by applying the continuous effect of **Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos**. As long as its on the field, it's also treated as a DARK Fiend-Type monster."

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: Fairy-Type **→ **Fairy-Type/Fiend-Type**

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: LIGHT **→ **LIGHT/DARK**

"Now, I'll activate the effect of **Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos**! By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can banish any card you control until my next turn begins." One of the yellow orbs of light sank into the monster's skin.

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: 3 **→ **2 OLU**

"And of course, I target **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**!" A colossal portal opened up above the large dragon, and tendrils shot out and ensnared it, dragging it into the different dimension. Its three remaining Overlay Units, now useless, simply dissipated.

"No!" Once again, Skyler felt no pain from his Number's destruction, but he was still distraught to lose one of his strongest Numbers.

"Battle!" Lithon declared. "Synthetic Chaos, direct attack!" The monster spread its arms wide, as if to embrace the world. The light emanating from its body grew brighter and brighter, blinding both Skyler and the spectators. Suddenly, Skyler was struck by an invisible shockwave, which threw him backwards.

**Skyler LP:** 4900 → 3000

"With that, I end my turn," Lithon said, smirking as Skyler struggled back to his feet.

"My turn, draw." Skyler drew his card, then stopped to consider his next course of action. Eventually, he decided on a defensive one. "I Special Summon Solar Wind Jammer, in Defence Position." A large purple shuttle appeared, with a cluster of solar panels on either side that resembled sails.

Solar Wind Jammer: Machine-Type/LIGHT/Level 5/ATK 800/DEF 2400

"I can Special Summon this card from my hand while I control no monsters," Skyler explained. "But if I do, its ATK and DEF are cut in half."

Solar Wind Jammer: ATK 800 → 400/DEF 2400 → 1200

"Then I'll set one more monster face-down and end my turn." The face-down card appeared.

"My turn then. I draw," Lithon drew his card, and was immediately interrupted by Skyler again.

"During your Standby Phase, the effect of your Chaos Number wears off, and my banished monster returns to my field. Reappear, **Number 4: Tesseract Dragon**!" The same large portal opened up again, and the dragonic creature fell from it, landing behind its owner with an earth-shaking crash. Unfortunately, its trip to the banished zone had left it devoid of Overlay Units.

**Number 4: Tesseract Dragon: Thunder-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 4100/DEF 2800 – 0 OLU**

Lithon started laughing. "You imbecile! Do you honestly think you still have control of your monster? Not on your life!"

"You what?" Skyler said, worried.

"I have control of your moves now," Lithon explained. "And I shall not allow this monster to see the light of day! I activate the effect of **Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos** once again! By detaching another Overlay Unit, Tesseract Dragon is banished again." A second Overlay Unit disappeared just like the first, sinking into the Chaos Number's skin.

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: 2 **→ **1 OLU**

The Number was dragged into the portal yet again. Skyler gritted his teeth in frustration.

"We're not done!" Lithon called. "I'll activate its effect one more time, detaching the last Unit to get rid of your set monster!"

**Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: 1 **→ **0 OLU**

Skyler's set monster – which turned out to be Planet Pathfinder – was dragged into oblivion. And still Lithon's turn continued. "Next I'll activate the Spell Card, Light of Redemption!" The Spell Card appeared on his field, and shrouded him with particles of light. "By paying 800 Life Points, this card lets me return one of my banished monsters to my hand."

**Lithon LP:** 1700 → 900

Lithon took one of his monsters back, then immediately decided to Summon it. "Now then, by banishing one LIGHT monster and one DARK monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand. Arise, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!" **Epignosai Mem** and **Epignosai Samekh** appeared behind him as ghostly images, which swiftly faded away into the other dimension. In a flash of light, the infamous blue-and-gold armoured warrior appeared.

Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning: Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 8/ATK 3000/DEF 2500

Skyler groaned. "You have to be kidding me. First a Chaos Number and now this! I thought Envoy monsters were so rare that almost no-one had them anymore."

"Well," Lithon grinned, "as luck would have it, I was fortunate enough to obtain one of these cards some time ago. But enough of that, on with the duel. Go, Synthetic Chaos, destroy his Solar Wind Jammer!" The Chaos Number's blazing aura grew brighter and brighter, until the same invisible shockwave that had struck Skyler moments ago smashed into the shuttle. The Machine was demolished in an instant.

"No!" Skyler cried out.

"Black Luster Soldier, direct attack!" Lithon declared. The soldier rushed forwards and slashed Skyler across the chest. He was knocked off his feet by the attack, and the wind was knocked out of him as he landed.

**Skyler LP:** 3000 → 0

**Lithon LP:** 900 [WINNER]

Lithon laughed maniacally as the augmented reality faded around them. "Let that serve as a lesson, o mighty hunter! Even you are nothing before the power of the Chaos Numbers!" Lithon staggered forward slightly with fatigue, but was upright again in an instant, and started walking forwards as though nothing had happened. The pulsating number on his neck faded away as he walked over to the downed hunter, who was lying on his back, dazed and fighting for breath.

"Hey Lithon!" Leah called.

The scientist stopped beside Skyler, and turned to face her, a look of irritation on his face. "What is it, girl?"

"What're you going to do to him?" she asked.

He grinned. "Be patient, young lady. I'll be doing it to you soon enough." Without another word, he knelt down beside Skyler and pulled a small metal device from within his jacket. It was a thick metal disk, with a glass dome on top of it, and several sharp metal protrusions that resembled the legs of an insect jutting from the side. Lithon placed the device in the centre of Skyler's chest, and the protrusions clamped down on his skin, preventing him from pulling it off.

"No... don't..." Skyler muttered.

"Too little too late, hunter," Lithon replied. He rolled up his left sleeve and tapped a few buttons on a small keyboard strapped to his wrist. "And with this..." he grinned, pressing one last key, "...your Numbers belong to me!"

The orb in the centre of the device lit up an angry red colour, and Skyler screamed in agony, arching his back against the ground. He scrabbled at the device with his fingers, trying to pry it off, but it held firm. He screamed again, thrashing about in the dirt as the device sent waves of agony through his body. Leah and Dan averted their gaze. The sight was too horrible.

With one last effort, Skyler clamped his robotic hand around the thing and attempted to crush it, but it was futile. It was too strong. He cried out in pain and gripped harder, crushing it with all his might. If he had been clutching a human arm, that grip would have ground the bone into powder, but it didn't leave so much as a dent on the small metal contraption.

"DAMNIT!" he shouted, and smashed his fist down on top of the thing.

And because the two Deltas weren't looking, they didn't see what happened next.

A tiny spark jumped between the metal device and Skyler's hand. Then, two things happened at once. Firstly, a bolt of lightning blasted through Skyler's body, and he immediately went limp. Secondly, the device short circuited with a bang, sending off a tiny wisp of smoke from underneath.

Lithon recoiled. "Gah! Damn you, hunter!" he growled. Just then, the device gave a mechanical cough, and four cards were spat out of the side, landing on the grass beside Lithon. He picked them up and examined them, a smile creeping back onto his face. "Ah, well at least I was able to extract his Numbers before the Drainer Pack short circuited." He looked on as the numbers forty-five, nineteen, fifty-four, and four all etched themselves onto the back of his hand, one after the other.

With an effort, he got to his feet and began to walk away. The duel anchor still binding him to Skyler appeared briefly, but he gave it a slight tug, and it shattered completely.

"Hey!" Dan called after him. "Where are you going?"

Lithon stopped, and spoke without turning around. "I've... I've used up too much energy," he muttered. "That was my first time performing the Chaos Xyz Change in a duel. As it turns out, it drains far more of my energy than I first thought." He shrugged. "Besides, my Drainer Pack is damaged... so even if I were to defeat you, I have no way of extracting your Numbers."

"But what about Skyler?" Leah asked. "What did you do to him?"

"Haven't you guessed girl?" Lithon replied. "I've simply extracted his Numbers. Normally, my Drainer Pack would also transport him to my lab where I could conduct further experiments on him, but it seems that some of his so-called technology-" he gestured towards Skyler's robotic arm, "-screwed up the extraction process, and damaged the extractor. He escaped unharmed. It's irritating, but perhaps it's for the best... after all, I now know I can easily defeat him, so I can let the little scoundrel run around gathering up more Numbers, then swoop in and take them for myself at my leisure..." He chuckled to himself. "Yes, that actually works out rather nicely." Suddenly, he turned to face them with a grin. "I will let you two go today for the same reason. But be assured, young Deltas, I will get you before long. For now, rest easy, safe in the knowledge that we _shall_ meet again." With that, he departed, his yellow lab coat flapping behind him like a cape.

The two Deltas looked at each other, but really couldn't think of anything to say. Each knew what the other was thinking - they were completely outmatched by the forces against them. It was as simple as that. They were losing.

Wearily, Dan helped Leah to her feet, and they began the long trek back home.

* * *

Author-made cards:

Number 4: Tesseract Dragon  
Thunder-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 4100/DEF 2800  
3 Rank 4 monsters  
Must be Xyz Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. If this card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead. You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; apply 1 of these effects (you cannot apply 2 or more different effects during the same turn): ●Banish 1 card your opponent controls. ●Banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand. ●Banish 1 card from your opponent's Graveyard.

Number 89: Blacklight Prototype (credit to Superjad)  
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900  
1 Level 4 LIGHT monster + 1 Level 4 DARK monster  
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. This card is also treated as a DARK Fiend-Type monster. If this card battles a non-LIGHT/DARK monster, at the start of the Damage Step: Detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target that monster; banish that target.

Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos (credit to Superjad)  
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900  
3 Level 4 LIGHT/DARK monsters OR 1 "Number 89: Blacklight Prototype"  
Cannot be Xyz Summoned unless there are 5 or more banished cards. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. This card is also treated as a DARK Fiend-Type monster. You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target 1 card on the field; banish it until your next Standby Phase.

* * *

**Fun Fact #18: Oh hey, did Doctor Lithon just become incredibly awesome? I think he did.**

**Fun Fact #19: There are a few things we need to establish regarding our layout of the Chaos Numbers. Firstly, we're not calling them "Number C", on account of that name being utterly pointless and silly. Secondly, we are using the anime-style variation of their limitations, which means that they require certain conditions to be Summoned, rather than to activate their effects. Thirdly, not all Chaos Numbers we use will have the "1000 LP or less" limitation that the anime ones do. Fourthly, rather than having the CXC conditions in their text, we're putting the CXC option as part of the actual Summoning requirements, separated by an "OR" (we find that this makes it look slightly better).  
**

**Fun Fact #20: For some reason, maelström is our collective new favourite word. Maelström!**

**Fun Fact #21: Yes, Lithon did say that it's physically impossible for a human to perform a CXC (Chaos Xyz Change), even though we all know that isn't true. Remember, Lithon is a heartless scientist who tortures kids, Numbers, and even himself to get results. What does he know of emotions?  
**


End file.
